The Lost Lands

The Sunken Forest

24

JUL/11

After resting up from their foray into Maure Castle, the party were alerted to an outbreak of the Red Plague in Hommlet. Rushing to the city to aid the victims, they were met by armed militia members who refused their admittance. They immediately spotted a flying airship sailing over Hommlett and armed men being deployed to the ground. These men were all dressed in the usual garb of the members of the Order of the Ebon Flame, Hayden Dunn’s outfit of malicious marauders.

One group of soldiers stormed into the tower owned by Rufus and Burne, while two other groups deployed out in the streets with longbows at the ready. Concerned, the party and the militia men ran for town to stop the assault of the tower. A battle ensued, with the airship providing covering fire from cannons. The soldiers who stormed the tower came out, package in hand. The soldier with the package climbed back aboard ship while the rest covered the escape. The flying ship set off and disappeared out of sight.

The party then learned from Rufus and Burne – who had been in other parts of the village attending the sick – that the Ebon Flame had stole some of materials Burne had been using to make a cure for the Red Plague. One item in particular was very hard to get, a piece of the heart of the Jungle Man. Rufus and Burne explained that they had encountered the Jungle Man several years ago on a previous adventure deep within the Sunken Forest. They also told tales of the horrid conditions and terrible monsters that prowled those unholy lands, and in particular “Molly” -the two headed maulosaurus who had killed one of their party members.

With time pressing, the party readied themselves and used Bricker’s druid ring to teleport to the outskits of the jungle. After a dangerous descent into the first level of the Sunken Forest, they encountered two stone golems that guarded the path down the cliffside they had traversed. Akil talked to several of the native birds on the way. The party discovered a clump of leatherwood trees, and they harvested some of the bark from the trees. They also encountered Molly for the first time, and saw her destruction first hand. When crossing the river, the party was attacked by pteradons. The group then decided to scout out the area using Haek’s rug of welcome. They encountered a second waterfall and went down to the next level of the jungle foliage and found a large island in the center of the river covered in ruins. Landing atop a large stepped pyramid, the party proceeded to explore the upper chambers of the structure and were met with a ghost of a long dead yuan-ti warrior. Haek and Aldoron were both aged ten years in the ensuing battle. Aldoran was overcame was fear and fled the pyramid only to be captured by a party of yuan-ti. Using Haek’s carpet, the party captured and defeated the yuan-ti with a well-placed web spell from Akil. Aldoran was freed and the party camped for the night in the shadow of the ruins.